Religion: Words & Works

¶ This is the "dying hour of Protestantism" in Germany, said Germany's
neutralist-minded Pastor Martin Niemöller, as quoted this week in the
Christian Century. "Should the forced partition of our people persist,
then . . . Romanization threatens in the West in the near future, while
the existence of Protestantism behind the Iron Curtain can at best
continue for only one generation. At present, everything indicates that
Romanization here and Sovietization there can hardly be opposed with a
chance of success." If the state uses its authority to impose
Christianity, says Niemöller, "Protestantism will go to pot."